November 28, 2013

Runs to the fourth round at the Australian and US Opens in 2013 have helped Milos Raonic to clinch Tennis Canada’s male player of the year award for the third year in a row.

The 22-year-old also won through to the third round of the French Open but was surprisingly knocked out in the second round at Wimbledon by the Dutch player, Igor Sijsling. He reached as high as ten in the world rankings in August before ending the season in 11th spot.

He also won two ATP tournaments, surprising line betting pundits to reach the final of the Rogers Cup for the first time, and helped Canada reach the semi-finals of the Davis Cup.

Raonic beat Tommy Haas in the San Jose Open final, his third successful victory in the tournament, and Tomas Berdych in the final of the Thailand Open.

“It feels great to be honoured with this award from Tennis Canada for another year,” said Raonic. “It was definitely a good season for me, and it’s been incredible to receive so much support from Canadian fans.

“Being able to play at home in the Davis Cup and Rogers Cup, it was amazing to see how passionate Canadians can be about tennis. I’m looking forward to 2014 now, and working hard to achieve everything I can.”

Meanwhile, Vasek Pospisil was named as Canada’s most improved player and Daniel Nestor was handed the accolade for the doubles player of the year.

November 09, 2013

Roger Federer
has ensured he will play his 12th straight ATP World Tour Finals after coming
through a tense second round clash against Kevin Anderson in the Paris Masters.

The Swiss star
needed to reach the third round in order to book his place at London’s O2 Arena this
month and did so courtesy of a hard-fought straight sets victory against the
big-hitting South African.

Federer has
never had to wait until the last minute to book his place at the season-ending
showpiece, but a difficult year meant he needed a strong display in Paris to
secure his place among the top eight to play at the O2 in London this month.

The former world
number one has not been anywhere near his best this year, with some fans of
live tennis online calling
on the 17-time grand slam winner to hang up his racket. However, Federer
has ignored his critics and merely focused on ensuring he finishes a difficult
year on a relative high by reaching the Tour Finals.

"It feels
great, I'm so happy, it's been a tough year so this is a highlight because this
was one of the big goals I set for myself this year so it's great to have made
it," Federer said after his crucial victory in Paris.

"I don't
know if I'm doing anything wrong or maybe it's just a time where my opponents
play well when they need to. Overall I played solid and it's just such a minor
detail that it's hard to say what it is."

The six-time
Tour Finals champion will now go into the final tournament of the season
looking to bounce back from his defeat in last year’s final at the hands of the
favourite in the betting, Novak
Djokovic. And it would take a brave punter to completely rule out Federer’s
chances of competing for the title in this year’s tournament.